1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of tools, and more specifically to the field of apparatuses and/or tools for use in electrical work and home improvement.
2. Summary of the Present Invention
In the United States and other countries, many people, including homeowners and professional electricians, engage in sophisticated electrical work that includes the wiring of numerous electrical devices both within and without the home itself. Aside from the electrical work involving making connections, grounding wires, and ensuring safe operation of electrical devices, typical work includes both stripping of the insulation covering the wires as well as protecting exposed wires with one or more wire nuts. While the manual burden of a great deal of tasks has been lessened greatly with the advent of the electric or handheld drill, a great deal of electrical work is still performed manually.
While it is relatively easy to drill holes and drive screws, it is still relatively time consuming and hazardous to perform electrical work on wires. In particular, the manual stripping of wire insulation usually involves the use of a specialized hand tool or a knife to strip the insulation, which can invariably lead to injury to the user. While fastening of a wire nut is relatively safer for a user, it still is a time consuming and labor-intensive practice, particularly for larger-scale projects. Therefore there is a need in the art for a tool or apparatus that allows a user to easily and safely strip the insulation layer from one or more wires as well as increase the efficiency of the wire nut fastening process.
Accordingly, various preferred and exemplary embodiments of the present invention are disclosed in the present specification. In one exemplary embodiment, the present invention can include an apparatus having both a wire nut receiver and a wire insulation stripper thus allowing a user to strip insulation from wires and then connect them using a wire nut with the same apparatus. As described in greater detail below, the apparatus can include a wire nut receiver defining a cavity having a proximal end and a distal end and one or more stripper blades disposed adjacent to the distal end of the cavity of the wire nut receiver. The apparatus can also include a driver connected to the wire nut receiver and the one or more stripper blades. The driver can be any type of suitable driver usable with either a manual or power drill interface such that the driver will rotate the wire nut receiver and one or more stripper blades in response to an external torque. In other exemplary embodiments, the apparatus can be configured such that the diameter of the one or more stripper blades relative to a rotational axis is variable, which in turn allows a user to easily account for different thicknesses or gauges of wire to be stripped. In still other exemplary embodiments, the one or more stripper blades can be aligned at a predetermined angle to maximize their efficiency in removing the insulation from electrical wires.
These features as well as other features and benefits of the various embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the appended figures.